Kim Possible: The Talk
by Desslock3
Summary: Kim has her best friend's back, even when he starts a relationship with Bonnie. Bonnie explains to Kim that she does the same thing when the red head starts dating Tara.
1. Chapter 1

Kim Possible: The Talk

AN: After having read several Ron/Bon's a common theme through out them was how Kim would stand up for her friend Ron as he began an unexpected new relationship. So I took that idea and flipped it so that Bonnie is now the one standing up for her friend as she enters a new relationship. Also, a big thank you to Joe Stoppinghem for the beta read of this fic.

I.

Kim sat in the both at Bueno Nacho as she waited for her companion to join her. She didn't know why Tara wanted to meet her at Bueno Nacho. While both girls did occasionally enjoy the Tex-Mex restaurant, it wasn't their favorite place, like it was for Ron and Bonnie.

Then as if to prove the old saying, "Speak the devil's name and he will appear," Bonnie entered the restaurant. Kim only vaguely followed the movement of her rival and best friend's girlfriend as she walked to the counter to place an order, never once turning around as if to acknowledge anyone else in the restaurant.

"_Well that was classic Bonnie",_ Kim thought.

In fact the only thing that Kim thought strange was that Bonnie was here alone with out Ron. That was until Bonnie placed her food tray on the table and sat down across from the red head.

"Here Kim, I got us some food."

"Thanks Bonnie," Kim said with a confused look, "But I'm waiting for someone." .

"Yeah I know. You're waiting for me." Bonnie said sagely as she divided up the plates of food on the tray between the two girls.

"Wait what?"

"I, Bonnie Rockwaller, invited you, Kim Possible, to join me for dinner at Bueno Nacho." Bonnie explained slowly.

"What are you talking about? Tara is the one who asked me out to dinner…."

The smirk on Bonnie's face told Kim that she had said too much.

"Yeah that's what I thought." Bonnie said as she took a bite of her food, "But I really did ask you to join me for dinner because we need to talk."

"No you didn't Bonnie, Tara was the one that texted me…" Kim protested.

"It was her phone, yes. But she did not text you. I borrowed her phone and did that."

Now Kim was really confused. "Why?"

"Because Kim, like I said we need to talk." Bonnie starred at Kim from across the table as she collected her thoughts. Kim for her part was shifting around uncomfortably under the brunette's gaze.

"Kim, we do need to talk." Bonnie repeated.

"About what?" Kim asked innocently.

Bonnie took a deep, "Kim, I know we don't get along well. But over the past few months we have at least learned to be civil with one another."

Kim nodded in agreement.

"And I know it's mostly due to my relationship with Ron."

Bonnie looked directly at Kim to gauge her reaction which began to look a bit worried if not down right panicked.

"When Ron and I started dating you pulled me aside and explained to me that as his best friend you would have his back and warned me that if I ever did anything to hurt him then you would come after me."

Kim looked a bit confused but did not refute her rival's recollection of the events. "Why are you bringing up that bit of history?"

"Because Kim, now it's my turn to do the same."

This last part caught Kim completely off guard, but before the red head could say anything Bonnie asked a simple question.

"So… are you and Tara a couple now?"

Kim didn't need to verbalize her answer; her furious blushing was answer enough.

"That's what I thought." Bonnie said. Then in a firm voice she continued. "Kim, if you hurt Tara, if you break her heart…."

Kim began to rise from her seat, "Hold on Bonnie, are yo-"

"No Kim, I'm not threatening you. But Tara is my best friend, just as Ron is yours." Bonnie took a breath and restarted in a softer voice. "I'm just being honest with you. I've got Tara's back and will look out for her."

Kim let out a long sigh as she settled back down in to her seat. As much as she hated to admit it, Bonnie did have a point. She just wished the brunette wouldn't be so blunt about it.

"So if you're with me, does that mean that Ron is with Tara?"

Bonnie nodded her head. "I told him that you and I had some cheer business to deal with but that he should grab Tara and join us later. But don't worry, he doesn't know about you and Tara."

"Then how do you know, about Tara and I?"

"It was an accident. I caught you and Tara making out at the mall."

Once again Kim's face flushed to match her hair.

"And I won't tell Ron, yet. He's your best friend; you should be the first to do that." Bonnie added.

"Thank you." Kim said sincerely.

"Just don't take too long about it. If I caught you then it won't be long before someone else does." Taking a sip from her drink Bonnie asked the question that had been in her mind since catching the two cheerleaders.

"Mind if I ask why you haven't told anyone yet?"

Kim frowned at the question, "I like to keep my private life, private."

"Fair enough," the brunette replied with hands opening upward briefly. "Tara hasn't told me either."

Kim simply nodded her head, "We both decided that we wanted to keep things on the down low till we sort of figured things out."

Bonnie nodded in understanding, "I know both of you have had a few heartbreaks in the day, so I can understand that. But like I said, you two should really think about letting other people know."

Kim was silent for a moment as she pondered a few thoughts that raced through her head. Finally she asked, "What if I decided not to talk to Tara about telling other people?"

"You might," Bonnie answered before smiling slightly, "But I've already accounted for your stubbornness, so I decided to up the ante to make sure you actually think about things. I said I wanted Ron and Tara to join us later, I just didn't tell you I wanted them to join us here."

Just then both Ron and Tara came walking up to the two.

"Hey Bon-Bon, how's my bondigety girlfriend and my bondigety best friend."

"Slightly miffed that you used the same adjective to describe both Kim and me." Bonnie said with a smirk while sliding over to allow room for Ron to sit next to her.

"Here Tara, you can sit next to me since that seat is full of love birds." Kim said with a bit of snark in her voice.

"Kim I swear you are starting to pick up some of Shego's snarkiness." Ron said.

"Hey Bonnie, what were you Kim talking about?" The blonde cheerleader asked her friend.

"Oh nothing I was just bouncing a few ideas off of her. Right, Kim?"

"Oh, yeah sure." Kim said slightly shocked at how quickly and smoothly Bonnie had been able to lie in front of both Ron and Tara.

"Well Ron lets go, I want to get some Ronshine and call it hunch but, I don't think Kim and Tara would like to see the form it comes in."

"TMI!" Both Kim and Tara said as one.

Bonnie simply shrugged her shoulders as she accepted Ron's offered hand to stand up from the booth she had been sitting in.

"Just think about what I suggested, Kim. But if you don't make a decision then I will." Bonnie's eyes settled on Tara during the second half of her comment.

After Bonnie and Ron had left Kim and Tara settled in to seats opposite of each other.

"Kim, did you and Bonnie really talk about cheer routines?" Tara asked.

"No, Tara."

"Then why were you two talking? I know you two are civil towards each other now, but not to the point of hanging out to just chit chat with one another."

"Bonnie knows about us. She gave me the, 'Don't hurt my best friend,' lecture."

"Oh, my!" Tara gasped.

Kim smirked, "I have to admit that in some ways it was scarier than the one I gave her for Ron."

"What should we do?" Tara asked, "I know we wanted to keep this between us for a while."

Kim simply held up her hand, then after Tara had stopped talking, Kim reached out and took the girl's hand in hers.

"We'll tell her, then we'll tell Ron. Then we'll tell the world."

Tara's smile was enough to let Kim know that she had made the right decision.


	2. Chapter 2

Kim Possible: The Talk

Chapter 2

AN: Originally I had intended for The Talk to be a stand alone piece. But then this idea popped in to my head and I decided to expand the story which will eventually include coming out to both Kim and Tara's parents.

Also, this is the first time I've written a slash, so feedback would be appreciated.

I.

Ding dong the door bell rang.

"Are you ready?" Tara asked Kim.

"I think so." Kim replied hesitantly.

Tara gave her girlfriend's hand a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry; I'll be there with you."

Kim gave the blonde haired girl a knowing smile, they were about to do something that they both knew needed to be done. But that didn't make doing it any easier.

Seeing that Kim had regained her courage Tara stood up from the couch they had been sitting on and made her way to the front of the house to answer the door.

"Hi Tara." Bonnie said with a pleasant wave from one hand while she held on to Ron's hand with her other one.

"Hi Bonnie, hi Ron. Come on in." Tara answered in her usual chipper way.

"Ladies first." Ron said as she bowed slightly in a gentlemanly fashion before following the two girls inside.

"Oh Kim, I didn't know you were here." Bonnie said in mock surprise.

"Huh? KP, what are you doing here?" Ron asked perplexed.

"Hi Ron. Tara and I wanted to talk to you and Bonnie." The red head answered.

"You could have asked to talk to us at Bueno Nacho, or we could have gone to the mall." He replied with a grin.

The last part of Ron's statement caused Bonnie to smirk a little at the sight of Tara and Kim's discomfort.

"I think both Bueno Nacho and the mall are a little too public for what Kim and Tara wanted to talk to us about." Bonnie said as she guided her boyfriend towards the couch.

Taking that as her cue, Kim rose from the couch and stood next to Tara as she waited for Ron and Bonnie to take a seat on the couch. She then took a deep breath before speaking. "Ron, Bonnie. I, I, uh, uh I want, I mean I. No I mean we…." Kim began rather haltingly, her face beginning to redden.

"What's wrong KP, I've never seen you flustered like this. Well unless you count when you were first crushing on Josh." Ron said, surprised by Kim's lack of her usual self confidence. "Oh don't tell me, you are crushing on Josh again…"

The rest of Ron's words were cut off by Bonnie gently placing her hand over his mouth.

"Sorry about that. Now Kim, Tara, what do you have to tell us." Then shooting a glance at Ron she amended, "Or Ron more specifically."

"Kim and I are dating." Tara announced suddenly.

The other three pair of eyes all looked at Tara for her unexpected out burst.

"Wheit whaaa, whhhnn wyun yuuu deeel mmy." Ron attempted to say through Bonnie's hand.

"Bonnie, can you remove your hand from Ron's mouth, please and thank you." Kim asked.

After Bonnie removed her hand Ron spoke again.

"Kim when were you going to tell me? I'm so happy for you." With that Ron stood up from the couch and embraced his best friend in a hug. After a couple of seconds Ron extended his right arm and included Tara in the hug too. "And I'm happy for you too Tara."

"Ok Ron, before I get all queen bee jealous on you for hugging other girls, let go of my friend so I can give her a hug too." Bonnie said as she joined the trio. "Oh and Kim, I won't hug you, but I'm happy for you too." Bonnie said over Tara's shoulder.

"So when did you two start going out?" Ron asked.

"Well it wasn't like one day I just decided to ask Tara out." Kim said, "It was more of a gradual thing."

"Let's just tell them the whole story." Tara suggested.

Seeing Kim nod in agreement Tara began the tale. "You see it all started a couple of months ago when Kim and I were studying…"

II.

"…Biology sucks." Tara announced as she put down her book and leaned back against the couch.

"Think how I feel, I wasn't even there for the class because I was on a mission, so I'm having to catch up by using notes." Kim replied as she too sat down her book.

"If you need to borrow my notes let me know."

"Thanks Tara."

"Hey we've been at this for a while, want a soda or something to drink?"

"Please and thank you." Kim said as she gave a smile to her friend. Watching the blonde rise from the couch Kim absently mindedly wondered why Tara didn't seem to have any luck with boyfriends. She was pretty, friendly, sociable, and while not the smartest person on the planet she was far from the dumb blonde that some people assumed. Well at least a single Tara meant that she had time to help Kim catch up on her school work. She then turned her attention back to her biology book and began to reread the part about mitochondria.

"Here you go Kim." Tara said handing Kim a soda while giving the girl a smirk.

"What?" Kim asked, "Why are you smirking?"

"You were so focused on your book that I stood here for a full minute before I had to say something so you would notice."

Kim groaned a little. "Sorry, you know how I can get some times. I get so focused on something I lose track of the rest of the world."

"Yes you do. Sort of like Bonnie." Tara teased. "But that's why I like you as a study partner."

Taking a sip of her soda Tara sat back down, picked up her book and started reading the next page. Kim mirrored her friend's actions and returned to reading her book as well.

Ten minutes later Kim put her book down as she leaned back on the couch and rubbed her eyes.

"Ugh, I would really rather be on a mission right now than reading more about biology." Kim complained.

Tara looked over at Kim and sighed. "Here let me help you." With out a further word Tara scooted next to Kim and began to gently rub the red head's temples.

"You're just like Bonnie, you need to stop pushing your self so hard."

"Sick wrong Tara, comparing me to Bonnie like that." Kim complained before adding in a more conciliatory tone, "This does feel good though. I didn't know you knew how to do this."

"Bonnie pushes her self hard when she's studying too, so I'm used to helping her get rid of headaches like this. Besides, I have an interest in studying sports medicine in college, and I hear blonde masseuses make good money."

"That's the third time now that you've compared me to Bonnie, keep this up and I might have to reconsider our friendship." Kim said playfully.

"I already am reconsidering my friendship with Bonnie." Tara admitted.

"What do you mean Tara? Did Bonnie do something to you?" Kim was suddenly on alert for trouble and her body began to tense up. She never really trusted Bonnie, but she had decided to give her the benefit of the doubt now that she was dating Ron. Still, if the brunette was willing to hurt her friendship with Tara, then there was no telling what she might do to Ron.

Tara seemed to read Kim's mind, or rather the girl's body language at the way it began to tense up as if preparing for a fight or flight response.

"No it's nothing like that. It's just that now that she's dating Ron, we have a lot less time to hang out together, and when we do, I some times feel like a third wheel."

Kim nodded her head in understanding. "But secretly you sort of wish that they weren't dating so things could be like they were."

Tara stopped rubbing Kim's temples and brought her hands together in front of herself as she answered, "Yes. No. I don't know."

The blonde then let out a sigh before she continued. "Don't get me wrong Kim, I love Bonnie as a friend, and I'm happy that she's happy with Ron. In fact ever since they've been dating Bonnie has been a lot more…laid back I guess. She's more like the Bonnie I used to know before high school."

Kim laid a hand on Tara's should in understanding. "Yeah I get that. I'm happy that Ron is happy, although I will admit that Bonnie was the last person I thought that he would be happy with. But we have a lot less time to spend together too."

Tara began to chuckle a little as a thought crossed her mind. "So here we are, two girls commiserating about how their losing their best friends because they started dating each other. Some one could make a romantic comedy about this."

Kim began to snicker, then out right laugh at the thought. Soon Tara joined Kim and found her self having to wipe away tears from laughing so much. After a several minutes of giggles, snickers, and laughter, the girls got it out of their system enough to continue to study.

An hour later as Kim as packing her study material in to her backpack Tara asked her a question.

"Thanks for helping me to study Kim. Want to come over tomorrow and study some more?"

"Well since I know Ron and Bonnie are planning on hanging out together tomorrow after school, sure why not." Then with a bit of smirk she added in jest, "It's a date."

III.

One week later, Kim and Tara were walking home from school and were headed towards Tara's house so they could study together. "So then Drakken…"

"That's the blue skinned guy that always bumbles things right?" Tara asked.

"One in the same, so Drakken then tells Shego that she can't deposit her pay cheque until next week or it will bounce. Needless to say Shego was not amused, she completely forgot about me and Ron and instead started hurling her plasma at Drakken. She ended up destroying his new super mega laser and chased him out of the lair. Ron and I have never had a mission so easy before."

"Oh my gosh, you have got to tell me about more of your missions." Tara said between fits of laughter. Unfortunately the girl wasn't paying attention to where she was going and she ended up walking right in to a low hanging tree branch and falling on her butt.

Kim was at her side in a heartbeat. "Tara are you ok?"

"Ow, I think I saw stars." Tara muttered.

"Here let's get you up so I can check you out." Kim said as she helped to lift Tara upright, but as soon as she let go the blonde seemed to get dizzy and began to fall to her knees. Kim quickly caught her friend and helped to lower her back to the ground.

"I don't see any bleeding, but if you're dizzy like that then you might have a slight concussion. Let's give you a few minutes to rest and then we can go to my place so my mom can check you out."

Tara nodded her head as she tried to decide which of the two Kim's in her vision were talking to her.

After a few moments of rest Tara had regrouped enough that Kim was able to help her fellow cheerleader to limp to the Possible's house.

"Mom, are you home?" Kim called as soon as they had walked through the front door.

"I'm in the kitchen Kim." Anne Possible called back.

"Can you check on Tara, she hit her head while we were walking home and she was complaining about being dizzy." Kim briefed as she helped Tara to a kitchen chair.

Anne Possible sat down her cup of tea and began to exam her patient.

"Any signs of bleeding?"

"No. I already checked her before we got here."

"Ok, Kim go to the master bathroom and get the first aid kit please."

"Really I'm fine." Tara started to protest as she attempted to stand up.

"I make that decision, not my patients." Dr. Possible stated as she gently pushed Tara back down, "Besides, Kim would just drag you back here, over her shoulder if need be."

"She would?"

"Um huh. She gets protective, some times a little overboard, of those she cares about."

Tara chuckled a little. "Yeah she does do that sometimes."

"So you and Kimmie seem to be spending a lot of time together." Anne stated as she looked Tara in the face.

"Yeah we have been. Since Bonnie and Ron have started dating, well we've both spent a lot less time with our closest friend."

"What do you two do when you hang out?"

"Nothing special, just mostly studying it seems like." Tara said with a shrug. "Guess we just make good study buddies."

"I'm sure you two do more than just study together." Anne commented as she continued to watch Tara for any signs of a concussion.

"Like I said, we hang out together, make jokes about Bonnie and Ron's relationship, wonder who we're going to go to prom with. I guess we just get each other."

Just then Kim returned with the first aid kit. "Here mom. Oh and the kit was in the guest bathroom, that's why it took so long to find."

"My mistake." Anne said as she took out a pen flashlight and shined it in Tara's eyes for a few seconds. "Well looks like your good to go Tara, just watch where you are walking in the future."

"That's all you have to do? That took like three seconds mom." Kim said exacerbated.

"I know dear, that's because I did the rest of the test while you were looking for the first aid kit."

IV.

As Mr. Barkin was droning on about some historical fact that she really couldn't care less about, Tara's gaze shifted back to the empty seat next to her. Usually Kim would occupy this seat, but today she was off on another one of her missions to save world. Tara missed Kim's company, which usually made getting through history class easier since their usual teacher, who was out today due to laryngitis, usually sounded like Ben Stein when he was lecturing.

Tara also had to admit that she was worried about her friend. A few days ago Kim had returned from a mission limping slightly. It wasn't much of an injury, but it was enough to keep her from participating in cheer practice that day. Kim was one of those blessed with more than her fair share of natural athleticism so missing one day of practice wasn't a big deal. Unless you count how Bonnie seemed to fall in to old habits and had made a couple of snarky remarks about Kim's abilities. This lead to the only time that Tara had ever seen Bonnie and Ron argue and resulted in Ron leaving cheer practice early with Kim.

"That was uncalled for." Tara said as she walked towards Bonnie.

"What was uncalled for was Ron walking out on me." Bonnie protested, "Who does he think he is?"

"He's Kim's best friend and he stood up for her, and so am I. I didn't appreciate the way you belittled a friend I care about."

This statement caught Bonnie off guard and the brunette simply looked at Tara as if she was seeing something new about the girl for the first time. "You feel that way about Kim?"

"Yes, we've grown closer since you and Ron started dating." Tara said plainly, "Speaking of Ron, I think if you really care about him then you had better go and apologize to him for what you said about Kim. Like do it today."

Bonnie lowered her gaze a bit as she thought about what her friend had said and what she had done.

"I don't know T, I know I should, but I'm still pretty angry right now."

Tara simply placed her hand on Bonnie's shoulder before speaking, "I know B, but trust me you need to apologize sooner rather than later. Ron loved Kim long before he loved you."

"HE WHAT?" Bonnie all but shouted.

"Not like that you drama queen." Tara said raising her voice a bit. Taking a calming breath the blonde continued, "There are different kinds of love you know. Ron has loved Kim like a sister since forever. Yes I know he really cares about you, but the relationship you two have is a different kind of love."

Bonnie continued to stare at her closest friend as if seeing her for the first time. Bonnie would be the first to admit that Tara did occasionally have her blonde moments, but this was not one of them. If anything what Tara had said probably ranked up there as Justine Flanner level smart.

Shaking her head at the memory Tara found her self still sitting in history class while Mr. Barkin continued to prattle on about some lame war in a far off part of the world.

A couple of hours later Tara found her self sitting on the couch in her family's living room trying to study. As much as she wanted to she just couldn't find the mental energy to focus for more than a couple of minutes at a time, which had resulted in her rereading the same page of text three times and still not really understanding what she had just read. Closing her eyes and letting out a sigh Tara's attention was soon cut short by the sound of the door bell.

"Coming." Tara said as she trotted across the room and opened the door to find Kim standing there.

"Hi Tara, mind if you I join you studying today's…" The rest of Kim's question was cut off by Tara's hug.

"Kim I'm glad your back, I was sort of worried about you." Tara said as she released the red head and began to pull her in to the house, "Yes you can study with me. Grab a seat on the couch and I'll get us some drinks."

Kim smiled at how cheerful her friend was. In many ways Tara was not all that different than Ron.

V.

"So that was the start?" Ron asked.

"I guess it was." Kim admitted, "Although I don't think either of us were thinking along those lines at that point."

"So when did you two get to the hot lesbian sex then?" Bonnie asked with an evil grin on her face as she watched Kim turn beet red and Ron took a far off look on his face.

"Not all of us are sluts who put out on the first date." Tara mocked as she stuck her tongue out at the brunette.

"Touché." Bonnie replied, "So what happened next then?"

"We'll tell you, after you bring Ron back to earth." Kim answered.

Sighing at the prospect of having to clean up the mess she had made, Bonnie turned to face her boyfriend who not only still had a glazed over on his face but was actually starting to drool a little. Putting her index finger in her mouth to wet it; Bonnie proceeded to insert the wet phalange in to Ron's ear which caused the young man to snap back to reality.

"Earth to Ron, they didn't make out." Bonnie informed.

"Oh, he he. Ummm, I guess can we hear the rest of the story then." He asked sheepishly.

VI.

Kim had taken a seat on the couch and had gotten her books out of her back pack by the time Tara returned with two glasses of lemonade.

"Here, my mom and dad drink this stuff like its going out of style; I swear they make it by the gallon."

"Thanks." Kim said with a smile that didn't completely hide the winch on her face as she reached for the glass.

"What's wrong?" Tara asked.

"Nothing, just a little sore from my mission is all. Usually Duff Killigan isn't much of a threat, but I guess he sort of had an off day, his usual golf shots are usually straight, but today he sliced right just I dodged right. Me and exploding golf balls so do not belong in the same place at the same time." Kim answered light heartedly.

Tara for her part did not like Kim's almost dismissive answer, "Kim, if you're hurt you should get it checked out. Shouldn't your mom look at it?"

"My mom already did, that was her precondition before letting me come over to study with you."

Tara let out a sigh of relief as she knew that Kim, for all of her desire to look out for others, often was blind to looking out for herself. Tara then began to chew on her lower lip for a few seconds as if in thought. Finally making up her mind Tara broached the topic she had been pondering.

"Kim, if it hurts for you to reach for a glass of lemonade then you must have strained your muscles. Why don't you let me take a look at it?"

Kim hesitated for a few seconds as she thought about the offer before finally accepting it.

"Good, now take off your shirt so I can take a look at that shoulder." Tara ordered.

Kim gingerly removed her shirt to allow Tara to exam her arm and shoulder. As she felt the young woman's fingers gently move across her skin Kim had to admit that the gently pressure Tara was applying did feel good on her abused muscles. Usually after a mission as Kim and Ron came down from their mission high, they would try to catch a quick nap on their ride home, but today's ride had not been that comfortable so they had skipped the nap, and now Kim could feel it was catching up to her. Maybe she could just close her eyes for a few moments as Tara finished working on her shoulder Kim thought.

VII.

"So there was undressing then." Ron pointed out.

All three girls turned their attention towards the blonde, red blooded boy at his announcement.

"It wasn't anything like that." Tara protested.

"Ron! I can't believe you just said that." Kim snapped at her friend.

"Hey it's not my fault…." Ron began to protest before he was cut off by Bonnie placing her hand over his mouth.

"Sorry about that. I'll try to keep mister horn dog here under control."

Tara looked at Kim and with a bit of snark that was unusual for her said, "And you said that Bonnie would be the bad influence in the relationship."

"Ok so I was wrong about that." Kim said in defeat, "Now on to the rest of our story."

VIII.

Kim had to admit that she was enjoying how she currently felt. She felt warm and snug and the pillow she was laying on felt good. It was nice and soft and warm, although just a little lumpy. Wait pillow? When did she get a pillow? The last thing Kim remembered was going to Tara's house to study with her, then Tara had insisted on examining Kim's sore shoulder and Kim had closed her eyes for a few moments. Kim's eyes suddenly flew open as she regained consciousness.

"Are you ok Kim?" Tara asked from behind Kim.

Kim then realized that after closing her eyes she had in fact fallen asleep, and that the pillow she had felt had actually been Tara's breast's, and lastly that the reason Kim felt so warm and snug was because Tara had her arms gently wrapped around the red head.

"Umm Tara, how long have I been like this?" Kim asked awkwardly.

"Not long, maybe fifteen minutes." Tara answered gently, "You must have been tired. As I was working a knot out of your shoulder you sort of drifted off and then leaned back against me. I thought about waking you but you just seemed really relaxed and I wanted to make you felt better."

Kim had to admit that she did feel better, and that it was actually comfortable leaning against Tara this way.

"If you're uncomfortable I can let you go." Tara said softly with what Kim thought was a hint of sorrow as the blonde began to release Kim from her hold.

"No, its ok. This sort of feels nice." Kim said as she let out a sigh.

"Yeah, this does feel nice." Tara admitted.

After a few moments the blonde cheerleader shifted a bit, not much, but enough for Kim to notice.

"Umm Kim, my parents will be home soon and I need to start dinner."

Kim understood what Tara was doing. The blonde was giving the red head an out, a way for Kim to let Tara down gently if she didn't feel the way Tara was feeling. Kim wasn't sure if she did in fact feel the same way that Tara did about their relationship. But either way Kim didn't want to hurt the girl.

"Kim." Tara promoted as Kim continued to lie against her.

"Sorry Tara, I was just thinking about things."

"Like what?"

Kim slowly sat up and turned to face the other girl before she spoke.

"Like how I don't want to hurt someone I care about."

"What do you mean?"

Kim looked at Tara and decided that she needed to cut to the chase.

"Tara, I may be a bit naïve, but I'm not dumb. I realize that you have feelings for me." Kim said as she noted the look of surprise on Tara's face. "And I admit that I've really gotten close to you over the past few months. But honestly I don't know if I have the same feelings that you do."

"Oh I see." A crestfallen Tara said sadly.

"Hold on Tara, I said I don't know if I have the same feelings. I didn't say that I don't or won't."

Tara only looked at Kim with a confused yet still sad look on her face.

"Gah! What I'm trying to say Tara is that I still want to be your friend, no matter what. But, but I guess I'm willing to see where things go with us."

"So I didn't scare you off forever?" Tara asked almost a bit pleadingly.

"No you didn't." Kim said placing a hand on top of Tara's.

Tara looked down at the hand on top of hers before lifting her head to look at Kim. Her blue eyes, which a mere moment ago threatened to spill tears, were now bright and almost as big as the smile that had began to cross her pale face.

"Thank you for not rejecting me Kim." Tara said softly, "I've never thought about dating a girl before, and if you had rejected me, well I was really afraid that I would loss you as a friend."

"I understand Tara, this isn't something I thought I would be doing a couple of months ago either. But if you're willing to take a chance on me, then I'm willing to take a chance on you."

"Ok, but, I'm, I, I…Oh your going to hate me for what I'm about to say."

"Tara, take a deep breath and tell me what's on your mind. I promise I won't hate you for it."

Take a deep breath to collect her thoughts the blonde cheerleader looked at the red head and spoke, "I'm happy that you want to be with me Kim, but I'm nervous about us too. What will others think? I've never been with a girl before."

Kim simply smiled as Tara shared her inner fears.

"Tara, I'm nervous too, I've never been with a girl either. As for what others think, well there is nothing we can do about that, except to take things slow. So how about we keep things just between us for a while and see how things work out."

"Yeah, I think going slow is a good idea." Tara admitted.


	3. Chapter 3

Kim Possible: The Talk

Chapter 3

AN: Some people will hate how I depicted James Possible in this chapter, but I think it's actually a realistic way some people would react. Besides, whether or not you agree with the man, his attitude doesn't come out of malice.

I.

Ding dong the door bell rang.

"I'll get it!" Kim shouted as she headed towards the door.

"Kimmie cub, what have I told you about yelling in the house?" James Possible chided.

"Sorry dad." Kim apologized before opening the front door. "Hi Tara!"

"Hi Kim!" The blonde answered just as enthusiastically as she began to reach out to embrace the red head in a hug.

Kim had to put her hands up and whispered "Not right now, wait till we tell my rents after dinner."

"Sorry, just got a little excited there." Tara whispered back as she stepped through the door and followed Kim towards the dinning room.

"Oh hi Tara, I'm glad Kim was able to invite a friend over for dinner." Anne Possible said as she puttered around the kitchen finishing up dinner. "Kim, could you give me a hand in here for a moment? Tara, why don't you make your self comfortable in the living room, I'm sure James is in there."

"Sure thing mom." Kim said, "But if dad scares off another one of my friends by rambling on about his work at the space center then I'm blaming you."

Tara for her part simply smiled, "Oh I don't think your dad can be any worse than my dad."

"That's the spirit." Anne said as she opened the oven to check on dinner. "How are your parents doing?"

"They're fine thanks. At another one of their VFW dinners they go to a couple of times a year." The teen cheerleader then looked around for a few seconds as if realizing that something was amiss. "Hey Kim, where are your brothers? Are they joining us for dinner?"

"The tweebs are out having dinner with some friends tonight." Kim answered happily, "I'll bring you something to drink in a minute, is there anything you want?"

"Just not lemonade, it's just about the only thing my parents drink other than water." Tara said as she made her way towards the living room.

After the blonde had left Kim turned to address her mother.

"Mom, are you making your brain meatloaf tonight?"

"Well why shouldn't I? It's been ages since I've made it." The elder Possible woman explained.

"Yeah that's true." Kim replied, "In fact I think the last time…"

Anne then spoke up interrupting Kim's train of thought.

"Dinner will be ready in about five minutes, why don't you take Tara her drink and let her and your father know that it's time to wash up."

Kim simply nodded her head as she exited the kitchen and made her way towards the living room. Once she arrived there she heard the sound of her father's voice as he was droning on about his work at the space center.

"We're really having to adjust what we're working on lately. Right now atmospheric hypersonic craft are all the rage and no one wants to see work on the single stage to orbit design we've worked for the past decade."

"Wow, so all that work for nothing then." Tara said with a look on her face that plainly said to Kim that she was bored but being polite.

"Here Tara, I got you a diet soda." Kim said with a smile as she handed the glass to the girl. She then turned to face her father, "And dad, please try not to scare off Tara before she's even had a chance to eat with us."

"Sorry Kimmie cub, but you know I get passionate about seeing our research diverted towards military applications." James said a bit chagrined.

"Oh it's ok Kim. But I'm sure my dad would love to debate that topic with your dad. He would take the opposite view what with his military background."

"And I bet I could give him a dozen reasons why that's a bad idea." James muttered.

"Dad, this is so not the time for that." Kim said exasperated. "Any ways mom says that dinner is ready and that you guys should go wash up."

"That sounds like a good idea." James agreed, "Anne hasn't made her brain loaf since the last time Ronald joined us for dinner."

Kim for her part had already turned away from her father in order to show Tara where the bathroom was. Which was a good thing or else James would have seen his daughter's eyes go wide at a sudden realization. The only time her mom ever made her brain meat loaf was when she thought it was a special occasion, such as holiday's when ever family visited, or when ever Kim brought a date home.

II.

Dinner had been delicious as always and there had been talk of the up coming end of spring, happenings at school or work, and general small talk through out the meal. It was by all accounts a good dinner, except the one thing that hadn't been talked about yet.

"Mom, dad. I have something I want to tell you." Kim said as everyone was finishing their dinner.

"What is it Kimmie cub?" James asked cheerfully.

"Well, I've sort of started seeing someone, and I wanted to tell you guys."

"That's great Kimmie, do we know them?" Anne Possible asked in a happy tone as she let her eyes casually drift towards Tara's place at the table.

"Yes you do know who they are." Kim said as Tara began to giggle a little.

"Well be sure to bring this young man by so we can meet him." James added. He was always happy to meet any boys that Kim was in a relationship with, and as a father he did take a little perverse joy in scaring them with tales of black hole probes.

"Oh, uh, sure if you want." Kim answered a bit awkwardly as just a hint of blush began to occupy her face. Tara simply continued to chuckle and Anne Possible began to smile a little.

Now James Possible was a smart man, he was a rocket scientist after all, and his IQ was last measured in at north of 130. But that is only one way to measure intelligence, and when it came to things like emotional intelligence, well his IQ was probably closer to an even 100. Even still he was still able to pick up on the fact that he was missing something.

"Anne. Is it just me but does Kim seem a bit flustered? And do you have any clue as to why Tara is giggling so much?"

This elicited an outburst of laughter from the three women around the table.

"Ok everybody, what's the joke that I'm missing out on?"

Kim took a deep breath and looked straight at her parents before speaking. "Mom, dad. The reason I wanted Tara to come over for dinner tonight is that I wanted to tell you that we are dating." As Kim made her announcement she reached out and took a hold of Tara's hand.

"Kim that's wonderful." Anne gushed, "I thought there was something going on between you two."

"What? You knew?" Kim asked in surprise.

"Well why do you think I made my brain meatloaf tonight Kim? I only do that for special occasions."

"Yeah I know that, but, but when did you know?"

"I think she knew when she was checking me for a head injury." Tara said, "I didn't think anything of it at the time, but she kept asking questions about us hanging out together."

"You mean you knew?" Kim asked still in disbelief.

"Why do you think your brothers aren't here?"

"I thought the tweebs went to some nerd convention with some classmates."

"And just who do you think set that up after you asked if you could bring Tara over for dinner?" Anne answered with a bit of mirth in her voice.

At this point Tara couldn't help but to laugh out loud, "Wow Kim, your mom is not only smart but sneaky too."

"And just where do you think Kim gets some of her "save the world" talents from?" Anne added which only increased Tara's laughter.

"Ugh, I can't believe I got played by my mom like that. So not fair." Kim huffed. "Dad you weren't in on this too?"

The lack of an answer from James made everyone notice just how quite he had been for the past couple of minutes.

Sensing that something was wrong Anne faced her husband to see that he had propped his elbows on to the table and had interlaced his fingers together. His hands were held at just the right angle that everything below his nose was now hidden from view. Anne had seen her husband assume this pose a few times over the twenty years that they had been together, and it usually meant that he was deeply troubled by something.

"Dad, are you ok? You look upset." Kim asked with concern.

"James." Anne prompted after several seconds of silence.

"Tara. Kim. I'm not upset. I'm not angry, or anything like that."

"Your face doesn't look that way to me." Anne said.

Then James did something that Anne had never seen him do to her before. He put his hand up palm out indicating for her to stop talking.

"I know how my face looks. I'm, surprised by Kim's revelation."

"But you're not happy with my choice are you?" Kim said defensively.

"Umm, if you need some privacy to talk to your parents I can leave." Tara said meekly although a slight nod from Anne told her that was a good idea.

"Tara you don't need to leave." Kim said.

"Kim is right Tara, you don't need to feel like you're being forced to leave. But there are some frank things I do want to discuss with both of you." James said flatly.

"James, I'm surprised at you." Anne admonished her husband and the tone that he was using.

"Anne, let me speak my mind and then you can yell at me all you want, but this is something I need to say."

Kim wasn't sure what was more bothersome, the way her father was speaking to her mother, or that he never took his eyes off his daughter and her girlfriend.

"Kim, Tara. I need to say a few things." James then turned his attention towards Tara. "Tara, you are a good person, friendly, cheerful, dedicated. Honestly, if you were a boy I would be less concerned about you dating my daughter."

James then took a deep breath before focusing on Kim, "And Kim, you are my daughter, so you know that I only want what is best for you. For all the reasons I said, Tara is a good person for you to be in a relationship with. But honestly I had always hoped that my little girls would fall for a boy. You didn't, and I have to accept that.

"But I want the both of you to know that while I may accept your lifestyle, not everyone is so tolerant about such things."

"They are just bigots!" Kim almost shouted.

"That may be one way to describe them. But some people just grew up with a different set of values."

"They still sound small minded to me." Kim said angrily.

"Would you say Nana Possible small minded?" James asked.

This rebuttal shut Kim down quick.

"I know that she will love you no matter what Kim. And Tara, as long as you never hurt Kim then my mom will hold no ill will towards you. But she may never accept you as a potential daughter-in-law or family. That's just how she was raised."

James then paused as he gathered his thoughts before continuing, "And that's not even the worst of it."

"It gets worse?" Tara asked as she tightened her grip on Kim's hand.

Dr. Possible looked at the teen and realized just how young and naïve she has. "I'm afraid not Tara. There are some people in the world that will openly shun the both of you and will go out of their way to make you feel like you don't matter. That may not be fair, but it is legal, and it is reality."

The Possible patriarch then took another deep breath as he laid out one more bit of information, "And those are just the one's that won't hurt you physically. Kim, I have no doubt that you could easily wipe the floor with anyone that tried to lay a hand on Tara. But Tara, can you do the same? Or are you willing to deal with having to look over your shoulder to make sure no one hurts Kim by hurting you?"

"James Possible, I can't believe you are trying to scare both Kim and Tara out of a relationship just because you don't approve of it." Anne practically shouted as she rose from her seat.

James sighed as he leaned back in his chair before looking at his wife glaring down at him.

"Anne, I'm not trying to scare them out of a relationship. I'm just worried about them and I'm trying to help them to be fully aware of what they may face."

"By putting the fear of god in to them?"

James frowned as he hardened his stare at his wife. "Not the fear of god, but the fear of man. Man can do some truly mean and nasty things to other humans." James then turned his attention back towards the girls, the look on his face softening as he continued speaking. "When I was in college I knew a young man that was interested in majoring in rocket science like I was. We had several classes together and got along quite well." James then had a far off look for several seconds as if he was recalling some sort of memory.

"I'm no jock, but even when compared to me this poor guy seemed a bit effeminate and there were several snide remarks made about him on a daily basis, and to a certain extent because I didn't shun him, there were snide remarks made about me. Well one day he actually worked up the courage to ask me out. I tried my best to let him down gently that I although I wasn't interested in pursuing a homosexual relationship, I still respected him as a friend.

"I guess he didn't take the rejection very well because he went out to a bar and tried to drink away the pain. Unfortunately, he didn't notice the jocks that had followed him there and they jumped him and beat him up pretty good. Terry was his name, and he has hurt pretty badly. He suffered brain damage that forced him to drop out of college. I don't know what happened to him, but I know his life was ruined"

James hadn't realized that he had hung his head as he told his tale. But eventually he lifted his head and starred at the two teenage girls before him. "Kim, Tara. That is why I'm cautious about you two dating. It has nothing to do with either of you, bur rather the world around you. Can you understand where I'm coming from? that?"

"I, I had no idea that the world was like that Mr. Possible." Tara said through tears.

Kim for her part, while feeling the same as her girlfriend, couldn't find any words.

"James. I never knew that about your past." Anne said softly.

"No, I never told you Anne, or anyone. But it's something that still haunts me sometimes, and why I wanted to be honest with the girls."

"So you're not against me seeing Tara?" Kim finally managed to ask.

"No Kim, I'm not against you seeing Tara. I'm happy that you make each other happy. But it is going to take a little getting used to, and I'm sorry that I had to sort of burst your bubble about how mean the world can be." James then looked straight at Tara, "So Tara, you have permission to date my daughter. But if you hurt her," he then produced his first smile since sitting down to dinner that evening, "Well I still know some black hole probes that could use a passenger."

Anne smiled at how her husband seemed to be accepting the situation and placed a hand on his shoulder as she addressed the teenage couple. "I think both your father and I are happy for the both of you."

She then turned to face her other half, she absolutely refused to refer to him as her better half right now, and her smile lessened. "James, I want to talk to you later tonight about how you conducted yourself this evening."

James knew a butt chewing was coming, but he had some issues he wanted to go over with his wife too. "Far enough Anne, but I want to talk about how you keep me out of the loop about Kim and Tara. If you had at least let me know you suspected they were a couple then I wouldn't have been caught by surprise tonight, and maybe I might not have been forced to make them grow up a little more quickly tonight."

III.

"Well that didn't go like I thought it would." Kim admitted as she walked next to Tara.

After dinner, and the lively discussion that had followed, Anne had suggested that maybe Kim should walk Tara home. Kim agreed with the idea, partly because she wanted to apologize to Tara for how her father had reacted, but also because she was sure that her rents were going to most likely have a long and probably loud discussion themselves.

"No it didn't." Tara admitted in a low voice.

"Tara, listen, I'm sorry for how my dad reacted tonight. It was ferociously wrong and I'm going to give him a piece of mind when I get home."

"It's ok Kim, you don't need to do that." Tara said as he put a hand on the red head's shoulder.

"It's not ok Tara, my dad acted like a total ass."

The use of profanity from Kim's mouth caught Tara by surprise. "Kim, stop." Tara said as she stepped in front of her girlfriend and looked her in the eyes. "Your father didn't act the way he did because he hates us, or what we are doing. He just hates the situation that it puts us in. He was being brutally honest with us, and I'm actually glad that he was."

"But he was such a jerk about it." Kim protested.

"Maybe, but what's done is done. And frankly I'm not worried about your father. He said that he thought I was a good thing for you, and I believe him. I think how he acted was just a due to him being caught by surprised by it all."

Kim did have to concede that point.

"I'm more worried about my parents." Tara finally confessed, "You know how I said my parents are former military?"

The teen hero nodded her head.

"Well they were in the military in the early 80's, a time when homosexual people were actively tossed out of the military. The attitude back then was in a lot of ways the same as your father described it tonight. That's why I'm worried that they won't accept us." Tara said as she began to cry.

"I wish I could say that I can't believe your parents would reject us. But after how my father acted tonight, I'm not so sure." Kim said as she tightly embraced her girlfriend. "Do you want me to be there when you tell them?"

"No. Let me tell them I'm dating a girl first. I'll let you know if they want to meet you after that."

"Ok Tara. But you call me if you need too; my home is open to you if they throw you out."

"Thanks Kim, but Bonnie already said I could stay with her if my parents threw me out." Tara said though a sniffle as she lifted her head till blue eyes were staring straight at green eyes, "Still, I'm glad I have you."

"Same goes for me." Kim said softly just before their lips met.


	4. Chapter 4

Kim Possible: The Talk

Chapter 4

I.

Tara's house was a single level dwelling that consisted of a centrally located living room, kitchen, and dinning room that had on one side a master bedroom and laundry room, while being bracketed by two bedrooms on the other side. Due to the kitchen sharing a wall with Tara's bedroom sounds easily traveled between the two rooms, which allowed Tara to hear that her parents were awake and in the kitchen.

Groaning softly at the prospect of the task before her Tara pulled herself out of bed and donned a pair of shorts and loose fitting t-shirt over her undergarments. It was safe to say that the teen was nervous about the conversation that she needed to have with her parents. Prior to having dinner with Kim's folks Tara had been reluctant to tell her own parents about her relationship with Kim. But after seeing how James Possible had reacted Tara decided that the conversation probably needed to happen sooner rather later.

The blonde girl slowly walked the short distance to the dinning room as she took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves before forcing a smile on her face. Hopefully her parents were in a good mood.

"Morning Tara, how was dinner at Kim's last night?"

Tara looked at her father with her forced smile. While dinner at the Possible household had been the night before, Tara's parents had not arrived home from their own night out until close to midnight. Thus this was the first time the teen had a chance to speak to them.

"Dinner was delicious. Her mom made her special meatloaf that's shaped like a brain."

"Hmm, sounds like something Bon Appetite would have made in the mess hall." Tara's father said as he took a ship of coffee.

"Ha, Hector you know that if he had made something like that then it would have been made with real brains." Tara's mom joked as she pushed some of her shoulder length blonde hair behind an ear.

"Gross!" Tara shrieked, "Dad; tell me mom's joking." Tara complained.

"I blame your father; he's a bad influence on me."

"Me? Hector Delgado, a bad influence on your Courtney Krieger. Never." Hector said in feigned indignation as his crossed arms showed off his forearm tattoo from his days in the navy. But his graying full beard did nothing to hide the smile or humor from his face.

Tara simply groaned as she buried her head under her arms.

Courtney couldn't help but to chuckle at how easy it was to tease her daughter. "I've heard of this special meatloaf. Isn't it something that she only makes for special occasions?"

Tara's head shot up at this statement.

"Umm Tara honey, is something wrong?" Her dad asked surprised by his daughter's reaction.

"No! No, nothing is wrong." Tara answered excitedly.

"You sure nothing's wrong?"

Tara simply nodded her head rapidly as if the stronger the nod the stronger the assertion that nothing was wrong.

Seeing her daughter's reaction Courtney decided to take a seat at the table and stared at her daughter before beginning her own interrogation.

"Tara honey, are you sure nothing is the matter?" Se asked.

"Yes mom."

"You aren't lying to us are you?"

"No mom, I'm not lying to you."

Hector sat down his coffee as he too stared at his daughter who was usually bubbly and happy. And although he wasn't as goo d at reading people as his wife was, Hector could tell that Tara seemed a bit nervous and jittery this morning. "Tara, you know we don't tolerate lying. If there is something on your mind then you can tell us." He said sternly.

"I, I, I do have something on my mind." Tara said as she lowered her gaze in defeat. "But I don't want to talk about it."

"Is it about school?"

"No."

"About cheerleading?" He pressed.

"No, not really."

"Is it about a boy?"

"No." Tara said a bit more firmly.

"Is it about Kim?" Courtney asked.

Again Tara's head shot up and her eyes widened a bit, and although she hadn't said a word it was enough for her parents to know that something was up.

"This Kim girl, isn't she the one that you've been studying with a lot lately?" Her mother asked.

"Yes." Tara replied with a slight smile beginning to form on her face.

"I don't recall you and this Kim girl hanging out much before now, she isn't just using you to help her with her school work is she?" Hector asked.

"No, she isn't like that." Tara said a bit indigently.

"Well what ever is on your mind I hope you will let us know when you are ready to talk about it." Courtney said as a way of cutting off Hector's interrogation of their daughter.

"Ok mom." Tara said meekly.

Hector for his part, despite usually being a bit brash, could see that his daughter had been pushed far enough for this early in the mourning. Collecting up his coffee cup while making his way to the sink, he asked the two women of his life who was up for some of his pancakes.

"I'm not really hungry." Tara answered even though she hadn't eaten anything since last night.

"Now Tara, you know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You don't need to go skipping it. It's not like you aren't already a stunner like your mom is."

"Flattery will get you nowhere Hector."

"Well it got me far enough that I got to marry a model."

"Ha, I haven't modeled since before I joined the Army." The former model and blonde bombshell retorted.

"Then what do you call that little show you put on for me on my last birthday?"

"Ugghh, TMI!" Tara all but shouted as she buried her head under her arms to try to hide from her parent's laughter.

II.

Ten minutes later Tara lifted her head from the table as the smell of hot pancakes began to fill the room.

"Here's two hotcakes for you babe, and some fruit on the side like you like."

"Thank you dear." Courtney said as she planted a small peck on her husband's cheek.

"Any pancakes for you Tara? The griddle is still hot." Hector asked as he piled four cakes on to a plate for himself.

Tara did have to admit that the pancakes did smell good and that she was actually hungry.

"Yeah I guess I'll have a couple."

"Her father smiled as he simply pushed his place across the table towards his daughter. He knew that she most likely wouldn't eat all four pancakes in one sitting, but he hoped that his daughter would take long enough that she would reconsider being willing to talk to him and Courtney about what was on her mind.

After about ten minutes Hector joined the two women at the table as he sat down with his own place of breakfast. Just as he was about to take a bite Tara decided to speak up.

"Mom, dad, can I talk to you?" Tara asked in a meek voice.

"Sure honey, what's on your mind?" Her mother asked gently.

"Well, it's, you see, it's just that, well I'm seeing someone." Tara said softly.

"Hey that's good news." Hector said, "Who is this scalawag? Any chance we can meet him some time?"

"Umm, I don't know." Tara answered as she began to nervously twist the napkin in her hand.

"Why? Afraid your mother and I wil shove bamboo under his fingernails if we don't like him?" Hector said with a chuckle.

"Dad!" Tara protested.

"Hector dear, please don't tease Tara right now, she obviously has something important on her mind." Courtney chastised her husband.

"All right I'll stop. But you sure know how to take away a guy's fun, just for picking on his daughter's boyfriend."

Hector's better half just rolled her eyes at his statement.

"Ignore your father Tara. Now why don't you tell us about this person you are seeing."

Tara was becoming even more nervous and had twisted the napkin in her hands so much that it was starting to tear apart. Lowering her gaze to avoid looking at her parents Tara decided that despite the consequences that she needed to be honest with them.

"Well, you see, the person I'm seeing. It isn't a boy. I'm, I'm, I'm seeing a girl. I might be gay."

Hector sat there with his mouth open as the bite of pancake that he had speared slowly slid off of his fork. He then slowly sat his fork down on this plate and took a look at his half empty coffee mug. "I could use some more coffee." He said flatly.

"Hector, can you get me a fresh cup too?" Courtney asked.

Hector nodded his head in reply so it didn't interrupt his muttered annoyance about how they had gotten rid of the last of his bourbon a few years ago. While Courtney was glad that she and her husband had stopped drinking, she did have to agree that this morning she really would have liked a cup of fortified coffee too. After being relieved of her cup she then turned her full attention back to her equally blonde daughter.

"Tara baby, please don't take this the wrong way. But how do you know you are gay?" You've either dated or had a crush on lots of boys in the past."

"But I've never felt the same way about them like how I feel for Kim."

"Kim, your friend Kim Possible?" Courtney asked although she really didn't need the clarification.

Tara nodded her head, "Yes, I'm dating Kim Possible."

The sound of a coffee mug breaking as it hit the floor, followed by what could politely be described as "sailor talk", drew Tara's attention.

"I knew this was a bad idea to tell you." Tara said sadly, "Look how upset daddy is."

"Tara, do not ever think that." Courtney said sternly before adding over her shoulder, "Damn it Hector be more careful and watch your damn language."

"See, you and dad are fighting." Tara said as tears began to fall from her eyes.

"We aren't fighting."

"But, but you're both acting upset."

"Yes we are a little upset, but not for the reason that you think."

Just then Hector returned with two mugs of steaming coffee.

"Here babe, half spoon of sugar and a large splash of cream." He announced before returning to his seat and simply taking a sip of his own coffee.

"Dad, are you upset with me?" Tara asked in a pleading voice.

A slight frown crossed the man's face as he considered what his daughter had asked.

"No he isn't upset with you." Courtney said.

"But he's not saying anything. I know dad gets quiet when he's upset about something." Tara protested.

"Tara honey. I'm not upset with you." Hector said slowly. "But I think we need to have a serious talk."

"I'm sorry mom, dad. I didn't mean to upset you." Then as she began to sob she added, "I never should have come out of the closet."

Both Hector and Courtney were at their daughter's side in an instance.

"Tara, never, never think that way." Courtney said through her own tears as she embraced her daughter.

"Your mom's right Tara, I didn't adopt you just so I could turn my back on you. I will always love you, no matter what." Hector added as he embraced the two women and added his own tears to the group.

III.

After her confession and the emotional rollercoaster of the morning, Tara said that she felt like she needed to lay down for a bit. Agreeing that it would do their daughter some good to go and rest for a while, Tara's parents sat down to have a serious conversation themselves.

"Hector, you need to talk to Tara when she wakes up. She thinks your upset with her and it's really scaring her."

"Why would she be scared of me?" Hector asked perplexed.

"It's not you that she's scared of, it's that you may be upset and might behave rashly." Courtney then let out a sigh as she thought about how her daughter might be feeling. "I know she was young when it happened, but she still remembers how her biological father acted by the end of our marriage. She also remembers when you came and saved us from him. She looks up to you and it would break her heart is she thought you were pulling that love away from her."

Hector was stunned by this and shook his head as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard. "Like muck am I doing that Courtney! You know that I love both of you with all of my heart."

Courtney reached out towards Hector and held his hand in her own.

"Hector darling. I know that; and you know that. But Tara may not. So we need to sit down with her and really explain to her about how we feel about her coming out and of her dating Kim."

IV.

While Tara's parents were having their conversation, their daughter was in her room laying on her bed as she went over the events from the morning again in her mind. Despite how scared Tara was of her parents reacting badly to the news of her being gay, their talk that morning actually hadn't been that bad. Tara considered that maybe she was over reacting to things. Surely if her parents had embraced her while she was crying then they couldn't be that upset about her being gay. Still she needed some prospective on things, so she turned to the one person she could count on to give her unbiased advice

Reaching for her phone Tara began to text her best friend Bonnie.

T: Bonnie, I need to talk, are you free?

B: Hey T, yeah I'm free, what's up?

T: I told my parents about Kim and me this morning.

B: OMG! How are you doing? Did they take it well? Let me give you a call.

T: No don't call. My rents think I'm laying down and I don't want to let them know I'm texting you right now.

B: Ok. Are you ok though?

T: I think so. We had a long heart felt talk. My rents seemed a bit upset when I told them I was dating Kim, but not as bad as I thought they might be.

B: T, you know your parents love you, why would you think they are upset?

T: I know they love me, they both told me that several times to reassure me. But my dad dropped a coffee mug on the floor and my parents yelled at each other.

B: Geez. Ok, that does sound like they are upset, but still I'm sure your rents love you. I've been over there enough times to know that your family love is real and not fake like my family's is.

T: I know B, but still I'm a bit scared.

B: I bet you are, you're doing something big T, something that some people don't have the courage to do. But you know what, if you don't face your fear then you don't get what you want. Let me let you in on a little secret, when I first started dating Ron I was scared out of my mind to let anyone know. Not just scared of Kim, but anyone. There were a couple of days that I thought about dumping him and just going back to the old Queen B that I knew.

T: OMG B, I didn't know that.

B: I know, you and Ron are the only one's that know that I had that fear. But I faced it and I'm glad I did.

After several minutes of digital silence Bonnie prompted her friend.

B: You still there T?

T: Yeah sorry, I was just thinking about things.

B: Tell you what, if things get to be to much for you there you can crash at my place for the night to allow everyone to cool off.

T: You sure you want to get involved in this?

B: Duh, you're my best friend, of course I do.

T: Thanks B, you're the best!

B: Hey I've got to go, but give me a call this afternoon and let me know how things are going.

T: Will do, later.

Closing the chat application on her phone Tara felt a bit better about things. Everything Bonnie had said was true about how her parents loved her. In fact the more the blonde thought about it the more she was sure that she was over reacting to things. Still, as a hedge Tara packed a few items in her backpack just in case she did have to crash at her friend's house tonight. Once these things were done Tara tried, and failed to get some sleep, so after a couple of hours she finally gave up and went to seek out her parents.

IV.

"Tara dear, your father and I want to have a talk with you." Courtney said as she noticed her daughter emerge from her bedroom. "Here why don't we sit in the kitchen and I'll get us all some lemonade."

"Ok." Tara said with little enthusiasm as she took a seat.

"Tara, we aren't upset with you. We aren't angry with you, and we haven't stopped loving you. We want you to know that." Hector stated firmly.

Tara just nodded her head.

"But there are some things that we want to discuss."

"Hector, why don't you go and get some of the pictures that we talked about?" Courtney suggested.

"Good idea." The former Navy man said as he made his way to the living room and retrieved several pictures from the mantle over the fire place.

As her husband went to complete his errand Courtney faced her daughter and began her own monolog.

"Tara, you said you think you might be gay." She then put her hand up to silence her daughter before she could protest. "Earlier I asked how did you know. I didn't do that to judge you, but to make you question things yourself."

"But mom, why can't you just accept that I am?" Tara protested.

"It's not about me or your father accepting that you are gay. We ae perfectly fine if you are."

Just then Hector returned with several photos in hand and handed one to Tara. The photo consisted of four men all standing in a line with their arms on each other's shoulders on a dock somewhere. The man on the far left was Hector, but Tara didn't recognize any of the other men.

"See that man to the right of me?" He asked. After Tara nodded her head he continued, "His name was, is Edward Leialoha, we used to call him torpedo. He served in the Navy with me. A few months before he was to retire from the Navy he confided to me that he was gay. He told me that one of the reasons he was happy to retire, even though he loved the Navy like I did, was because he was tired of hiding his homosexuality, and retirement meant that he wouldn't have to be living a lie anymore about who he was."

Tara looked up from the picture to her father, "You said his name was."

"Yeah, he passed away some years ago due to AIDS. Back then gays in the military had to keep it hidden so that meant instead of dating he had to usually resort to risky hook ups and he avoided mentioning certain things during his annual physical exams. Look the point I'm trying to make is that he and I served together and saved each other's lives several times. I couldn't care less that he was gay, and it didn't stop me from attending his funeral."

"Hector, don't be so modest, if I recall Melvin had to drag you off of one of those anti-gay protesters who tried to disrupt his funeral."

Hector rubbed the back of his neck in a slightly embarrassed manner at the memory. "He he, yeah he did didn't he."

Tara looked at her parents in confusion. "Why are you telling me about your old military buddies?"

"We're telling you about them so you understand that we don't care if you are gay, think you are gay, if you're bisexual, or whatever that pansexual thing they say now a days. Your mother and I love you no matter what."

Courtney nodded her head before taking a deep breath to speak.

"But there is one thing we are concerned about, it's not that you are dating a girl. We're concerned more with which girl in particular you are dating."

"What's your problem with Kim?" Tara asked a bit defensively.

"Our problem isn't who she is, or who she sleeps with." Hector said.

"We haven't slept together!" Tara shouted as her face turned beet red.

"Poor choice of words there Hector." Courtney said with a scowl, "What your father is trying to say is that its Kim's save the world missions that has us concerned."

Tara stared at her parents for a moment not quite believing what they had just said.

"So you don't care that I might be gay, or that Kim might be gay?"

"Not at all." Hector answered.

"But you care about her going out and saving the world. But that's what you two used to do in the military, you used to fight for our freedoms in the 80's."

"Which is why we are concerned." Courtney added.

"But that's so hypocritical. I thought for sure you would like Kim for doing that."

"We appreciate what she does; it's a very noble thing." Hector said, "But it usually comes at a price."

Now Tara was even more confused and her confusion was obvious on her face.

"Here is another picture we want to show you." Courtney explained as she handed it to Tara.

The picture had two people in it, one a confident looking woman with dark short, yet sort of wild looking hair, and the other was an equally confident looking man. It looked like they were at a wedding and they both seemed as happy as could be.

"I don't understand, who are they?"

"They are Alison R. Hart and Dashiell Faireborn. They both served with us in the military and fell in love with each other." Hector explained.

"See, you and dad meet in the military and fell in love, so did these two." Tara said as she indicated towards the photo, "So what does this have to do with Kim and her missions?"

"Lady J and Flint, well that's what we used to call them; they were both go getter types. They would always volunteer for missions and would usually end up leading those missions. They saw a lot of action, both together and individually. It took a toll on them and despite how they look in the photo they began to have relationship issues."

"Are they divorced?" Tara asked as she looked at her father.

"No honey I'm afraid not. Dashiell there, well he was killed in a car crash due to drunk driving. He had started drinking a lot to deal with what he had seen in the military and the breakdown of his marriage." Courtney explained, "As for Alison, well right now she's in a halfway house dealing with addiction for pain killers as well as being on probation for assault on Dashiell and destroying some of his property. She would take out her frustrations on him physically, and although he never laid a hand on her, ultimately it drove him to drink."

"Oh no, that's horrible." Tara said softly.

"Yes it is honey. We know first hand what the strain of those missions can cause. There is a reason that your mother and I don't drink anymore."

"Wait, you're saying that you didn't want me involved with Kim because it might be dangerous? Really? After what you guys used to do in the military? Kim deals with people who think turning a city's water supply in to jello is a thing and you guys took on a world wide terrorist group!" Tara protested.

"Now honey, in you mom and mine's defense one time Cobra did try to control the weather just like that Drakken guy did."

Courtney simply faced palmed at this statement, "Oh dear husband of mine you are so not helping."

Deciding to move the conversation along the blonde mother added some more information by explaining, "It's not just military people that deal with PTSD issues Tara. When Bonnie spent the night a couple of weeks ago your father and I over heard the two of you talking. We know that Bonnie told you about the nightmares she sometimes has of bad things that could happen to Ron, and how she also told you about the nightmares she knows Ron has from his missions."

"You listened in on us?" Tara asked quite peeved.

"Well you mother did receive training in intelligence operations." Hector explained.

"So not the point!" Tara countered, "You and mom violated my privacy an eves dropped on Bonnie and I!"

"Yes we did Tara, and I'm sorry for that. But it was a good thing since it let us know that there are things that you will face if you do continue to date Kim."

Tara sighed and lowered her head. She knew that her mom was right even if she didn't like how she had collected the information.

"So do you understand where we are coming from baby? We know it can be a rough world out there, but we want you to know that we've got your back." Courtney said as she reached out and squeezed her daughter's hand.

"Yeah I guess I can forgive you." Tara said, which resulted in her receiving a big hug from her father.

V.

Kim was nervous, annoyed, scared, and frustrated all at the same time. Not ten minutes ago she had received a call from Bonnie telling the red head that she hadn't heard from Tara all day and now she was worried about her. Kim, in her usually Kim way didn't ask for much in the way of details and simply rushed over to Tara's house intent on having a little talk with Tara's parents if need be. Little did she know they wanted to do the same with her.

AN: Most fics that give Tara a last name usually us the name Strong, after the voice actress who provided the voice for Tara. Usually I'm a fan of that name as well, but I decided to change it up this time. If you surprised at my use of GI Joe characters for Tara's parents, well 1. if you assume Tara was born in 1989 then the math works out, 2. Cover Girl originally had long blonde hair like Tara, 3. if was hinted at a few times in the series that Shipwreck and Covergirl had a connection going on, 4. if you were completely surprised by my choice then you haven't read my fic KP: There's No Place Like Middleton.


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